OTX1 promotes colorectal cancer progression through epithelial-mesenchymal transition

• OTX1 is overexpression in colorectal cancer tissues.
• Overexpression of OTX1 promotes colorectal cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo.
• Depletion of OTX1 inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro.
• Overexpression of OTX1 is linked to the EMT-like phenotype.

Orthodenticle homeobox 1 (OTX1), a transcription factor containing a bicoid-like homeodomain, plays a role in brain and sensory organ development. In this study, we report that OTX1 is overexpressed in human colorectal cancer (CRC) and OTX1 overexpression is associated with higher stage. Functional analyses reveal that overexpression of OTX1 results in accumulation of CRC cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, whereas ablation of OTX1 expression significantly inhibits the proliferative and invasive capability of CRC cells in vitro. Together, our results indicate that OTX1 is involved in human colon carcinogenesis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for human colorectal cancer.